The use of any Department IT resource is restricted to those activities related to Department business. Use of computers and electronic communications by employees is authorized in support of the law enforcement mission of the Department and the administrative functions that support that mission. Authorized persons shall adhere to this policy as well as the guidelines set forth in the County Electronic Data Communications and Internet Policies.
Authorized persons are expected to abide by the standards of conduct delineated in other volumes, chapters and sections of the Department’s Manual of Policy and Procedures as they may be applied to the use of electronic communications and use and release of information. Department IT resources are subject to search and users are obligated to surrender any such resources and/or devices at any time to authorized Department personnel.
Authorized persons are expected to use electronic communications and network systems with a high degree of professional and personal courtesy. Authorized persons must ensure that the tone and content of electronic communications are business-like and exclude inflammatory remarks or inappropriate language. If it is an issue that could cause embarrassment, it does not belong on e-mail.
Although users of any Department electronics communication system or network have no rights of privacy and are subject to search at any time by authorized Department personnel, persons authorized to use Department electronics shall not forward or otherwise disclose the contents of electronic messages with the intent to embarrass or otherwise harm the sender. This does not prohibit the receiver of e-mail from divulging the contents of electronic communications to an authorized persons’ supervisor or to Department management.
Authorized persons who receive an electronic communication intended for another person shall attempt to notify the sender as soon as possible of the error.
Authorized persons who are authorized users of e-mail are responsible for reading their electronic mail in a timely manner, no less than once a day, or notifying their supervisor that they are unable to read e-mail. To enhance security and ensure that shared computers are available to all authorized persons, users shall logoff their computer when away from their workstation and at the end of the work shift.
All computers connected to the Sheriff’s Data Network must remain “on,” at all times, in order to permit after-hours maintenance, updates, and security upgrades. Authorized persons who have workstations which are used one or two shifts per day should logoff at the end of the day and leave the machines running.
Users of portable devices that connect to the Sheriff’s Data Network should refer to the standards found on the Intranet under Policy/Standards/Guides on the Data Systems Bureau’s Intranet web page.